


Come Back to Me

by DhampirsDrinkEspresso



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Pete's Dragon AU, Pregnancy, RFR Songfic Challenge May 2020, References to Past Neglect, Songfic, Sort Of, mild violence, references to past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24166411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DhampirsDrinkEspresso/pseuds/DhampirsDrinkEspresso
Summary: Every night, Rey walks the beach at sunset, waiting for Ben to come back to her.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 47
Collections: RFR Songfic Challenge





	1. Candle

**Author's Note:**

> A series of interconnected scenes, all less than 1000 words, inspired by the songs from Pete's Dragon.
> 
> First up, Candle on the Water:
> 
> I'll be your candle on the water  
> My love for you will always burn  
> I know you're lost and drifting  
> But the clouds are lifting  
> Don't give up you have somewhere to turn
> 
> I'll be your candle on the water  
> 'Till ev'ry wave is warm and bright  
> My soul is there beside you  
> Let this candle guide you  
> Soon you'll see a golden stream of light

They all said the same thing. Different words, but variations on the same idea: _He’s gone, Rey, and he isn’t coming back. It’s time for you to accept that and move on with your life._

Just because they’d given up hope didn’t mean she would.

She hadn’t spoken to Poe for weeks, now. She’d avoided Finn. She hadn’t even spoken to Rose. It was harder to avoid Han and Leia, but she found just not acknowledging them was surprisingly effective. They’d leave her to her musings, their only interference asking if she’d eaten, and suggesting a jacket or blanket as the weather turned cold.

Rey shivered, pulling the woolen blanket tighter around her shoulders as she sat alone in their spot, staring across the water at the horizon. She tucked her chin, burying her nose in the fabric she’d pulled from his bed. Tears pricked her eyes as she realized it didn’t smell like him anymore.

Twice each day, sunrise and sunset, she followed an invisible path across the sand, to the spot just outside of town. _Their_ spot.

Where he’d taken her for her first picnic.

Where she’d first dipped her toes in the ocean.

Where he’d told her that he loved her.

Where he’d told her that he was leaving.

Where he’d promised he would come back to her, _after_ …

He wouldn’t look at her when she asked him, “After what?” He’d shaken his head, turned away and walked into the shadows.

Into the darkness.

And now, after so long, even his own parents had given up _._

But not Rey.

He just needed someone to guide him, light the path. She couldn’t follow him now, but no matter what it took, how long or hard the journey, she would be his beacon, the light guiding him home.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, that last brilliant burst of fiery red making the sky and water glow as if they were on fire, Rey stared out at the spot his ship had disappeared, all those months ago, and whispered the same words she’d breathed into the air as he walked away from her:

“Come back to me, Ben.”

She rubbed a hand over her swollen belly, quietly adding, “Come back to us.”

She walked back to the house in darkness.


	2. I Saw a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey remembers a confrontation with Luke while on her nightly walk down the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Saw A Dragon:
> 
> A dragon, a dragon,  
> I swear I saw a dragon!  
> His tail lashing,  
> he'll be smashing,  
> every shop in town!  
> With scaly feet,  
> he'll crack the street  
> and tear the steeple down!  
> It's not some looney dream,  
> I heard a scream from Sheriff Brown!

A storm is coming, she can smell it. She won’t make it back before the rain comes. She should have brought a slicker, worn her boots.

She took the opportunity to sneak out as Han and Leia tended the light, knowing it would be needed when darkness fell.

Still she walked the familiar path, feet already damp inside the thick woolen socks she’d donned to make the shoes—Rose’s, and a size too big—stay on her feet. There was another evening like this, the smell of salt and rain on the wind, the roar of the waves louder than it should be.

Ben hadn’t been with her that night, either.

The night his uncle attacked him, and yet Ben was the one who ended up in jail.

“Why? Why would you do that, Luke? You just…attacked him, out of nowhere.”

“I saw a dragon.”

Rey paused, turned to face Ben’s uncle. “You saw a what, Luke?”

“Dragon.” He blinked, looked away as he shifted his feet. “Ben. He was so angry. When I looked at him I saw a dragon, a monstrous beast bent on destruction. He would have burned this town to the ground and spit in the ashes.”

Rey stared at the older man. “I assume you mean that metaphorically, and that you haven’t been picking wild mushrooms again.” He nodded, once, a sharp jerk of his chin.

“He…Rey you’ve never seen him really angry. Ben is…he’s just completely out of control when he goes into a rage. The last time no one stopped him, he put three classmates in the hospital, and he’s a lot stronger now.”

“Three bullies, you mean? Yes, he told me all about that, about the three older boys who were going after Rose again. How she didn’t even feel safe walking home in a group, and how one day they caught her alone. If Ben hadn’t stopped them…” Rey trailed off, sadly shaking her head. “He was protecting someone else, and you _knew_ what had been happening, you _knew_ they were harassing Rose, how scared she was. You were their _teacher,_ Luke. You should have stepped in but you didn’t. And you wouldn’t even say anything in his defense.”

Luke just looked at her, shaking his head with a condescending sigh. “I don’t expect you to understand, Rey. You’ve never seen the monster he becomes.”

“You’re right, Luke. I don’t understand.” She paused, taking one step closer. “I will never understand why you didn’t help him. The only monster I see is _you_.”

She started to walk away, freezing in place when Luke called after her.

“You might be right, Rey. Maybe I’m a monster, too. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

“You’re not a monster, Luke,” she whispered to the steely sky. “I’m sorry I said that. But Ben’s not a monster either, and he _will_ come back to me.”

Lightning rips across the sky, as if punctuating her words, and the rain fell, heavy and cold. She couldn’t stay, but she wasn’t ready to go back yet. There was one more thing she had to do. Huddling into the oversized fisherman’s sweater—Ben’s, of course—she stepped closer to the water’s edge, eyes trained on the horizon.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	3. It's Not Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey remembers a day she tried to surprise Ben, only to have him beat her at her own game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: It's Not Easy
> 
> It's not easy to find someone who cares  
> It's not easy to find magic in pairs  
> Now that you have him, hold him  
> Treasure him from day to day.  
> It's so easy.  
> Life is lollipops and raindrops with the one you love  
> Someone you can always be with  
> Argue and agree with  
> Climb the highest tree with.  
> It's not easy to share somebody's dream  
> It gets easy  
> When you work as a team  
> You've got to tend it, fan it  
> That's what I plan to do.

Loving him had always been the easy part.

Sometimes he made liking him difficult, but loving Ben, that had come as naturally as breathing.

Rey walked slowly, this time, enjoying the extra freshness in the air, the added brightness that only seemed to come after a storm. She shivered, wishing she’d added another layer of clothing before her walk. It was getting colder.

She remembered one of her favorite days as she walked, hugging the image in her mind, the way her hands locked protectively over her belly.

It had been getting colder then, too.

The town, even some of his own family, they all thought she only saw what she wanted to see, that she didn’t see the monster he really was, didn’t understand the anger and rage that took hold sometimes. They never bothered to understand him, or her. He wasn’t a monster, just a broken man, missing pieces he’d found in Rey, his sharp edges matching her own until they were a perfect fit.

Rey knew exactly who Ben was, and she loved him because of his flaws, not in spite of them. Her entire life, she’d searched for belonging, for home, and she’d found it in Ben’s arms. So no, she wasn’t letting him go—ever. He was hers as much as she was his. She would fight with him, and for him, work beside him, and build a life together, for as long as he was hers.

Rey gathered the basket in her arms, thanked Leia and assured Han that no, she didn’t need any help, it wasn’t too heavy and she wasn’t going that far, anyway. She carried the basket away from the lighthouse, following the familiar path of the sandy beach to their spot, looking forward to surprising Ben for once.

He surprised her first. He’d was already there, waiting for her, and he wasn’t alone, Finn and Rose standing with him and grinning, and there was someone else…Rey gasped and dropped the heavy picnic basket on the sand, hands coming up to cover her mouth as she stared at Reverend Roberts (affectionately known as R2 in town).

Looking back, she would never be able to remember the words, something about teamwork, shared dreams, and working with and for one another. She repeated the words when prompted, eyes on Ben, barely realizing she was crying as he repeated his vows. Finn and Rose cried, too, sniffling as their names went into the record as witnesses.

None of them would ever reveal that Ben cried more than the three of them combined.

Rey cried again, staring at the sunset as she remembered that day.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	4. Every Little Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey recalls the day everything went wrong, and the men responsible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Every Little Piece 
> 
> This one may have been harder to work in that I Saw A Dragon...
> 
> I can take a scissor  
> And clip him up, rip him up  
> Every little part is a work of art  
> Think of what a dragon heart would bring  
> Wrapped up in a ribbon and a string  
>  ***  
> Every little piece  
> Every little piece  
> Dragon you're my wagon to destiny  
> You're the key  
> Every little shred moving me ahead  
> Every dream of mine will be fulfilled  
> What a dragon business we can build

Pirates.

She knew now, that’s what they had been. Not active anymore, too old, no longer fit for life on a ship. So they recruited younger men to do the work for them.

At the time, all those months ago, all Rey knew was that she didn’t trust them.

Most of the town thought the two strangers perfectly respectable, if a little eccentric (although that was brushed off as a natural result of what seemed to be their extravagant wealth).

But they made Rey’s skin crawl.

She told Ben, of course she told Ben, but he just dismissed her concerns, providing a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything she pointed out. She didn’t realize why until she saw him one day, deep in conversation with the slim, scarred man, Mr. Snoke, while the other, Mr. Palpatine, watched, a greedy glint in his eyes.

She felt sick when Ben nodded, shaking hands with both of them.

What had he agreed to?

Whatever it was, it could not be good. These men, they were predators. They would slice him into little bits, chew him up and spit him out. When she tried to tell him so, he turned his temper on her for the first time—ever. He never raised a hand, barely even raised his voice, but the things he _said…_

She needed to save him from them.

She needed to save him from himself.

She hadn’t been in time, hadn’t been able to stop him.

It was the worst day of her life, watching him walk away, _letting_ him leave. She could have told him, some part of her still thinks that would have made him stay.

But it wouldn’t have been his choice, and she wouldn’t do that to him.

And so, she had just…stood there, after he kissed her goodbye, waited and watched as he disappeared.

The way she stood there every night, rooted to the spot, eyes straining for some movement, watching for a dark spot on the horizon.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	5. The Happiest Home In These Hills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey remembers escaping her previous "home" with the Plutt family, and the day she met Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: The Happiest Home In These Hills
> 
> I'll cook you cake and gingerbread,  
> Bring you tea in bed on a tray,  
> We'll slave while you go fishing  
> You'll get permission to run and play  
> These tears oughta show you I care  
> Come back, by cracky we'll share  
> The happiest home in these hills...in these hills!
> 
> Gonna snag him, gag him, drag him through town  
> Put his head in the river, let the pup drown,  
> Trap him, strap him, wrap him in a sack. Yeah!  
> Tie him screaming to a railroad track.

The baby was moving constantly, now. Rey didn’t sleep anymore, couldn’t. Instead she lay awake in her bed, the one that had been given to her when Ben first brought her home to his mother. She couldn’t bear to sleep in his bed—their bed—after he left. Rey stared at the ceiling, darkness broken by the regular, rhythmic motion of the light at the top of the towering building. She remembered her childhood, her escape from it.

She hadn’t been able to walk tonight. Another storm had rolled in, thunder rattling the walls while the wind howled. Leia hadn’t let her leave, this time, bundling her up by the fire and insisting it wasn’t safe, not even a short walk, not even if she made it back before dark.

So she stared into the darkness, remembered what she wanted to forget.

It had taken months of planning, days of saving scraps of food, and hours of hiding in the branches of an apple tree before Rey made her escape. The Plutt family had put a roof over her head, yes, but in return they treated her like a slave, and they weren’t gentle when displeased.

So she ran.

And she kept running.

Until she reached a strange little coastal town called Passamaquoddy. She’d never seen the ocean before, and rather than the joy and peace she had expected, all she felt looking out at the water was fear. Still, the water called to her, the waves beckoning, calling out to her to stay close.

She’d been living in the caves for three days when he found her.

She’d looked up at him, tall and dark and seemingly offended that she was in what he considered his place, and though she thought that most people found him intimidating Rey was fascinated by this man. And then he spoke and a sense of recognition crashed over her, pulling her under and she thought she might drown in his eyes.

Home.

After a lifetime of searching and longing and dreaming she was finally _home_.

With Ben beside her, she wasn’t afraid of drowning.

But he wasn’t beside her anymore, and Rey felt like the waves were pulling her under as she cried into her pillow.

_Come back to me, Ben._


	6. Brazzle Dazzle Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey tries to focus on the good days, remembers how she felt the day of her first picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Brazzle Dazzle Day
> 
> It's a Brazzle Dazzle day,  
> So throw off the past and everything in it,  
> That's the Brazzle Dazzle way,  
> Enjoying your time, from minute to minute,  
> Running through the sand without your shoes on (shoes on),  
> Making sure that you don't keep your blues on,  
> Finding a boat we can cruise on  
> It's a Brazzle Dazzle day,  
> When you think of love and never a sorrow,  
> That's the Brazzle Dazzle way,  
> To do your work now and take off tomorrow,  
> Flying through the air; you don't need wings on (wings on),  
> Climb right up! and feel the thrill it brings on,  
> Flock with the wind as it sings on.  
> Ride higher and higher and glide above the clouds,  
> Free! no one to catch us or slow us,  
> Even the birds are below us!  
> It's a Brazzle Dazzle day,  
> A life time of joy in just a few hours,  
> All our Brazzle Dazzle years have just begun,  
> We'll follow the sun and replay,  
> This Brazzle Dazzle day!  
> Ride higher and higher and glide above the clouds,  
> Free! no one to catch us or slow us,  
> Even the birds are below us!

In the two years since Ben had found her in the sea caves and brought her home to his parents, Rey had had more good days, made more treasured memories than in her entire life. Those were the ones she reached for, the ones she tried to hold on to. Sometimes she wasn’t successful. Sometimes she was.

Han and Leia had welcomed her into the lighthouse, into their lives and family, with open arms. As time passed, knowing grins and gentle sighs were commonplace every time they saw her interact with their son.

Rey’s first picnic had been Ben’s idea, but it was Leia who prepared the food, packed the basket, shooed them away from any chores that still needed to be done. She was matchmaking, but they weren’t complaining.

Since the day he had found her in the sea caves, Ben’s spot, the small, secluded stretch of beach near the cave entrance, had become _their_ spot. Their spot for talking, for stargazing, for watching the sunset.

Their spot for a picnic.

Their spot for the first, tentative kisses that sparked a flame brighter than the one at the top of the lighthouse.

It was getting colder, but still warm enough to toe off their shoes and walk along the shore, bare toes kissed by the salted edges of the waves. They raced back, Rey laughing gleefully when Ben caught up to her, arms locking around her waist to swing her around. Even once her feet were back on the ground, in his arms Rey felt like she was flying.

Two years. It had been two years since he found her.

Six months since he left her there on the shore.

Five months, three weeks, and 6 days since the black silhouette of his ship disappeared over the horizon.

Rey held onto the good days, held onto hope.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	7. Bop Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You, Too)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey remembers the words he whispered against her skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Bop Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You, Too)
> 
> Look in your eyes and you whisper sweetly  
> You don't match in size but we fit so neatly  
> It's nice waking up when you're close beside me  
> Humming in my ear  
> You're joking  
> I can't believe it  
> You do  
> I love you too
> 
> Remember the night when you first confided  
> Things went so right that we both decided  
> Now we're together and life is perfect  
> Don't ever disappear  
> Oh really  
> No you're just saying  
> Oh is that true  
> I love you too
> 
> We're walking down a road of our own  
> The rain can never fall  
> I'm glad I don't have to be alone  
> Oh yeah
> 
> You know what to say when I want direction  
> You don't turn away when I need protection  
> Your voice is the sound of an angel singing  
> Music I wait to hear  
> Say it again  
> And again  
> Everything seems so new
> 
> I love you too  
> I love you too  
> I love you too

The first time he’d said the words they were muffled, mumbled against her neck as they lay on the cool sand. They’d been gazing up at the stars when he turned on his side, buried his face in her neck, and she felt his lips form the words as much as heard the “mph mmph mph” sounds of the syllables. She’d frozen, unsure if she had been right in her interpretation.

Then Ben lifted his head, tracing the curve of her face with one finger, trailing it down her neck, finally coming to rest over her heart before he leaned in, just a hair’s breadth from her lips when he whispered it again.

_I love you._

It became a game between them, whispered words against warm skin, muffled endearments to be translated by the other. Sometimes playful, sometimes sensual, always something for just the two of them.

The morning after their secret beach wedding, he’d leaned in, lips pressed to her neck again just like that first time.

_Love you, wife._

Wife.

They were _married._ For the first time she woke up beside him, in his bed—their bed—Mrs. Ben Solo. She’d slept through the sunrise, later than usual for anyone in the lighthouse.

She had expected Leia to be upset at missing out on the chance to plan a wedding, show off to the whole town, but her _mother-in-law_ (how amazing was that) had simply been ecstatic that ‘it finally happened’ and dug out a dusty bottle of rum to toast the newlyweds before actually _shoving_ them towards the staircase and commenting loudly to Han about how the wind was already howling and she could barely hear a thing.

There hadn’t been any wind that night. Possibly some howling, though.

Rey doesn’t think of that particular morning often. It hurts too much, waking up alone now.

She doesn’t often make her morning walk anymore, either, sleeping through sunrise most days after a night of tossing and turning. At Leia’s suggestion she had stolen all the pillows off the larger bed, arranging them so she could prop her legs up, in an attempt to ease the pressure on her back and joints. It had helped to a point, but she still didn’t sleep well.

The sunset walk was becoming more difficult with each passing day, Rey having to pause and rest at least once on the way to their spot, and twice coming back.

She can’t sit in the sand anymore and watch the horizon. Not by herself, anyway, because she can’t stand back up. But she makes the walk to their spot, fingers toying at the simple gold band on a chain around her neck. The ring wouldn’t fit on her finger anymore.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	8. There's Room For Everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets some unexpected news from her father-in-law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: There's Room for Everyone
> 
> There's room for everyone in this world  
> If everyone makes some room  
> Won't you move over and share this world  
> Everyone make some room  
> Even a dragon deserves a place, a wide open space  
> With no reins, no chains  
> He wants to play games, dance with you  
> Give him a chance to sing his song  
> He only wants to belong

After Ben left, it was Han who found Rey and took her home, back to the lighthouse. Han who guided Leia away when Rey curled up in a ball on the narrow bed in her old room. Han who brought her Ben’s sweaters and shirts.

And when it seemed like everyone else, even Leia, had given up on Ben coming back, Han Solo was the last hold-out, the one to still reassure her that Ben would come back for her, that not even death would stop “that stubborn, idiot, boy of mine, from coming back home where he belongs. Everyone has a place and his place is with you, Rey, don’t doubt that.”

She only wished more people had believed that. Maybe then Ben wouldn’t have felt so compelled to leave her, that he had to do…whatever it was that had seemed so important.

“Luke’s gone after him, you know,” Han had added casually, staring at the happily crackling fire in the hearth. He didn’t look at her when she gasped in surprise. “Said you were right, that you laid into him again about not understanding Ben, and you were right.”

Rey cringed. She had. She had sought out the schoolteacher to apologize for the things she said to him before, the night Ben went to jail so many months ago. Instead she had been let her temper get away from her, been intolerably cruel to Luke, called him a monster _again_ , blamed him for Ben leaving, as if he had chased his nephew away.

“Going for a walk,” Rey mumbled, wrapping herself in one of Ben’s tattered old coats, one he had outgrown years ago, but Leia had kept because ‘it might be useful someday’ (fortunately for Rey). It didn’t quite close around her anymore, but it was better than nothing, and she had layered it over one of his old woolen sweaters.

She was crying by the time she reached the sand, the tears not stopping as she made her way slowly to their spot, where she continued to cry silently.

For herself. For Ben. For Leia and Han and Luke.

She couldn’t help feeling responsible for breaking their family, although she knew it had been fractured for years.

Her throat was tight when she tried to whisper the words into the sunset. Instead she stared, offering them up in her mind like some silent prayer or invocation.

_Come back to me, Ben._


	9. Passamashloddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey recalls the day Snoke and Palpatine returned to Passamaquoddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Passamashloddy 
> 
> Go on back where you belong, jail!
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you  
> I sense enthusiasm  
> I sense loving response  
> And that's why I feel that this is my home away from home
> 
> ***
> 
> Let's start investing
> 
> Keep those dimes and dollars mounting  
> I'll do the counting  
> Everyone who lives here will be strong and healthy  
> You'll be getting richer by the day!
> 
> Yay!
> 
> Hear them acclaim us  
> This town will be famous  
> The whole wide world will look at us and say  
> It's...
> 
> Poddamaquassy, no, Paquamasoddy, no, no, Passamamassy  
> Uh, Quoddamapoddy, p...p...Passamadaddy  
> q...q...q...Quoddamapassy...  
> Quoddamaddy, Dappadaddy, Dappamossy, Quoddapossy  
> Quassapossa, Passaquossa, ha ha ha ha!
> 
> Passamaquoddy!
> 
> I know!
> 
> (This was another one I wasn't sure how to work in at all...)

They’d come back, Snoke and Palpatine. As much as she loathed the sight of them, Rey supposed some good had come of it. More of the townsfolk were suspicious or outright distrustful of them now. Not everyone, but more than there had been before. They’d shown their true colors in front of a crowd, unable to even recall the name of the town and insulting the intelligence of half the citizens at one go.

And then there was the fact that it gave her hope. If the two elderly pirates had returned to this tiny little nowhere coastal town, there couldn’t be many reasons.

Maybe, just maybe, it could mean her Ben was coming home.

Rey sat on the porch, feet up, wondering if she could even make the walk again. Her friends had been dropping by to check in on her each evening, just in time for her sunset walk. They didn’t bother trying to convince her not to go, but had taken to coming along, keeping a respectful distance as she stared out over the water. They didn’t clutter the air with useless chatter, didn’t hover unnecessarily. She supposed she should be grateful, but she couldn’t help her irritation.

She wasn’t an invalid. Countless women had been through this before, and both the doctor and the town midwife (Rose’s own sister, Paige) had been in favor of a little light exercise like a relaxing walk on the beach. She supposed they would be less in favor of knowing the real reason, or how it distressed her sometimes.

But she wasn’t giving up.

Giving up her walk meant giving up on _Ben_ , on waiting for him.

She groaned, struggling to her feet. If she left now, she’d be at their spot by the time Rose, Finn, and Poe arrived. She’d have time to herself, and they could still help her home. She had no illusions that they would follow, make sure she was okay.

As she walked, her pace the slow lumbering waddle her gait had become, her thoughts returned to the kriffing pirates. She’d had the bad luck of happening to be in town when they returned and had found herself cornered by the pair of them outside the general store.

Rey hadn’t feared many people in her life. Not even Unkar Plutt most of the time. But those two struck a chord of fear that left her icy to the core, the greedy, possessive, calculating way they had stared at her belly making her sick.

They hadn’t had a chance to say or do anything before Captain Phasma, the only female ship’s captain Rey had ever met, had come upon them and stepped in between Rey and the two elderly men. She hadn’t even said anything other than good morning, but she had greeted them by name, as if she knew them. The pair had made excuses and left, headed for the newly constructed hotel across the street. Phasma had turned to her, eyes quickly assessing whether she’d been harmed. “Don’t let them catch you alone, again. I don’t know what happened between those two and your husband, but you aren’t safe around them.” And with that comment the woman had headed for the tavern.

The mob had run the men out of town later that afternoon, and Rey couldn’t help thinking Phasma had been at least partly responsible.

That had been weeks ago, though, before Luke left town on Phasma’s ship, lending credence to the idea that Phasma might have had news about Ben, might have known where he had gone or _why_.

There had been no word from Luke.

There had been no word from Ben.

Rey stared out across the water as the sun began to drop nearer the horizon. She could hear Rose and Finn talking softly as they approached, Poe lagging behind them for once.

She sighed softly.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	10. Bill of Sale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's "foster" family once showed up in town, trying to reclaim her. The town's reaction is a fond memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Bill of Sale
> 
> We got a bill of sale right here  
> that says he belongs to us  
> Fight all ya want  
> Won't do no good to holler and fume and fuss
> 
> Leave town, keep on goin' before I can count to five!
> 
> We got a bill of sale right here  
> (I'll protect...)
> 
> We got a bill of sale right here  
> (...him...As)
> 
> We got a bill of sale right here, right here!  
> (...long as I'm...alive!)

She’d never expected the Plutts to follow her so far, but they’d shown up in town, intent on dragging Rey back with them.

Rose and Finn had spread the word, fetching Poe and Ben, and rounding up other townspeople—other _friends_ Rey had made in her short time there. By the time Rey had found out they were there, an actual _mob_ had formed.

A mob headed by the preacher Reverend Roberts, the school teacher Luke Skywalker, and Ben’s parents.

Rey had been surprised to find herself crying, touched to have so many people rise to her defense. Rose had shoved her way through the crowd (it was the most polite and orderly mob ever), wrapping her arms around Rey and leading her to the front of the crowd before handing her off to Ben with a whispered, “We’ll handle this, sweetie.”

Ben had wrapped both arms around her and dropped a kiss on her temple, never breaking eye contact with her former “foster” family, a possessive challenge.

A warning.

The standoff had been stressful, but short, most of the family backing away and climbing back into their beat up wagon with the creaky wheels, leaving only the patriarch, Unkar, to face down what seemed to be the entire town of Passamaquoddy.

When Leia had chased Unkar Plutt out of town with an actual pitchfork Rey had cried again—this time from laughing so much.

Rey frowned, brow creased, as she walked slowly down the beach, pausing at times to catch her breath or rub at her back.

She had cut herself off from practically everyone (save Han and Leia since lived with them), and she had regretted the decision almost immediately.

But she hadn’t known how to fix it.

Had been afraid to try.

She couldn’t help worrying that it was too late.

Then she neared her destination and saw the figures lounging against the rocks.

Rey gasped, freezing in place as they stood, moving toward her at once. She allowed Rose’s arms to come around her as far as they could, cried in great, gasping sobs on Finn’s shoulder, squeezed Poe’s hand when he reached out.

The four of them managed to choke out “I’m sorry,” all at once, stumbling over each other’s words to be heard.

When they left her to return to town it was with great reluctance, and she suspected at least one of them would wait just out of sight and follow her back to the lighthouse. But they at least pretended to acquiesce to her wishes, granting her some semblance of privacy, and that was enough.

Rey stared into the darkness, watching the moonlight glint off the water. She felt lighter than she had in weeks, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Now she only needed one more thing.

“Come back to me, Ben.”


	11. On the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey takes one final walk...in a storm...what could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Inspiration: Candle on the Water (Reprise)
> 
> A cold and friendless tide has found you  
> Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down  
> I'll paint a ray of hope around you  
> Circling in the air  
> Lighted by a prayer  
> I'll be your candle on the water  
> This flame inside of me will grow  
> Keep holding on you'll make it  
> Here's my hand so take it  
> Look for me reaching out to show  
> As sure as rivers flow  
> I'll never let you go  
> I'll never let you go  
> I'll never let you go...

She shouldn’t have been so stubborn. There was a storm brewing, and it was _so close_ to her time. Rose, Finn, and Poe had even stopped coming, trusting that Rey had more sense than to go wandering alone so close to time to deliver her child, and in the kind of weather that had settled over the town the past week.

But Rey had been nearly crazed with the need to _go_ , to see for herself once again that he hadn’t come back, so she snuck out when Han went for more firewood and Leia was occupied in the kitchen.

One more time, she told herself, once more and then maybe she could stop. Stop waiting and just live.

For their child.

The pains had started that afternoon, but it didn’t feel any different than what the doctor and the women in town more familiar had told her to expect as her body practiced, preparing.

They hadn’t lasted this long before, though, and Rey was beginning to realize just how much danger she was in as the wind picked up and another pain gripped her.

She reached their spot just as the rain began to fall in heavy, cold drops. She shivered at the chill as one trailed down her neck, disappearing under the layers of fabric as she tried to stay upright. Another pain gripped her, and she felt a heated wetness that couldn’t be explained away by the rain or the spray from the waves.

Rey knew she couldn’t make it back to the lighthouse, but maybe the caves…

She couldn’t hear them calling her name over the storm and her own ragged breathing, but somehow they found her, huddled in the back of the largest chamber, safe from the water for now but no warmer than the open beach.

Han and Leia had managed to gather a search party, despite the storm raging outside. They’d just _known_ where to look first, unsurprised to find her in the sea caves, in the exact spot Ben had found her when she first came to town.

They were, however, surprised to find their grandchild would be entering the world in the same location.

She had to try asking three times before Leia understood the question and assured her that Reverend Roberts was tending the lighthouse—the light, which absolutely MUST stay burning bright for any ships caught in the maelstrom—so that the rest of them could look for Rey.

Poe and Han built a fire, while Rose and Leia tended to Rey as best they could under the circumstances and Finn ran full-tilt back to town to fetch Paige.

Paige didn’t make it in time.

By some trick of fate, Ben did, stumbling in with Luke and Captain Phasma, soaked to the skin and chilled to the bone just as the baby’s first cries cut through the air.

The first thing Rey did when she was able was punch her husband in the mouth.

The second was kiss his resulting fat lip.

“You came back to me.”

“I will _always_ come back to you, Rey.”

She frowned. “You shouldn’t have left in the first place.”

He couldn’t hold her gaze. “I know,” he said softly, “I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t think I had a choice. You weren’t safe. As long as Snoke and Palpatine were around, you were both in danger. I had to play along, at least make them think they were getting what they wanted.”

He was staring at their child, one hand raised as if to touch the tiny bundle in Rey’s arms, but he never finished the motion.

“You knew?”

Ben glanced back at her, offended. “Of course, I knew, Rey, but I was waiting for you to tell me.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

Rey stared down. “I’m sorry about that, then. I thought…I guess I thought you’d feel like you couldn’t leave, and then you’d resent me for holding you back.”

Ben gave her a _look_ then, telling her without words that she was ridiculous to an exasperating degree. “You’re my home, Rey, you and our…” he trailed off, looking at her in question.

“Daughter.”

“Daughter,” he repeated softly, hand rising again to brush one finger lightly over the baby’s cheek. Rey shifted, leaning on Ben, allowing him to take her weight as she raised the baby a bit, situating her so Ben could see and reach her too. “Have you…did you choose a name, for her?”

Rey smiled softly.

“I thought, maybe, Hope.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah...this did NOT turn out like I planned (I should expect that by now). I had intended more of a narrative with, you know, actual PLOT...plot involving Ben becoming a Privateer/Pirate known as the Dragon and a big showdown with Snoke and Palpatine, but once I started writing it became all about Rey's struggle to hold on to hope and her faith in Ben and there went all my attempts at a cohesive story rather than angsty flashback snippets.


End file.
